Counter-economics is an

economic theory Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyze ...

and

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

method consisting of

direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...

carried out through the

black market A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the ...

or the

gray market A grey market or dark market (sometimes confused with the similar term " parallel market") is the trade of a commodity through distribution channels that are not authorized by the original manufacturer or trade mark proprietor. Grey market pr ...

. As a term, it was originally used by American

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...

activists and theorists Samuel Edward Konkin III and

J. Neil Schulman Joseph Neil Schulman (; April 16, 1953 – August 10, 2019) was an American novelist who wrote ''Alongside Night'' (published 1979) and ''The Rainbow Cadenza'' (published 1983) which both received the Prometheus Award, a libertarian science ficti ...

. The former defined it as the study or practice "of all peaceful human action which is forbidden by the State". The term is short for counter- establishment economics and may also be referred to as counter-politics. Counter-economics was integrated by Schulman into Konkin's doctrine of

agorism Agorism is a social philosophy that advocates creating a society in which all relations between people are voluntary exchanges by means of counter-economics, engaging with aspects of nonviolent revolution. It was first proposed by American liber ...

, a left-libertarian

social philosophy Social philosophy examines questions about the foundations of social institutions, social behavior, and interpretations of society in terms of ethical values rather than empirical relations. Social philosophers emphasize understanding the social ...

and branch of left-wing market anarchism that advocates creating a society in which all relations between people are voluntary exchanges. Within

libertarianism in the United States In the United States, libertarianism is a political philosophy promoting individual liberty. According to common meanings of conservatism and liberalism in the United States, libertarianism has been described as '' conservative'' on economi ...

, counter-economics has been adopted by

anarcho-capitalists Anarcho-capitalism (or, colloquially, ancap) is an anti-statist, libertarian, and anti-political philosophy and economic theory that seeks to abolish centralized states in favor of stateless societies with systems of private property enfor ...

, left-wing market anarchists, as well as more anti-capitalist anarchists.

Origins

The first presentation of the theory of counter-economics was made by Samuel Edward Konkin III at a conference organized by J. Neil Schulman in 1974 held in Cheshire, Massachusetts. The first book to portray counter-economics as a strategy for achieving a libertarian society was Schulman's novel ''

Alongside Night ''Alongside Night'' is a dystopian novel by science fiction writer J. Neil Schulman intended to articulate the principles of Agorism, a political philosophy created by Samuel Edward Konkin III, to whom Schulman dedicated the work. It was first p ...

'' (1979).

Relationship with agorism

Konkin's agorism, as exposited in his ''

New Libertarian Manifesto ''New Libertarian Manifesto'' is a libertarian philosophical treatise by Samuel Edward Konkin III. It is the first explanation of agorism, a philosophy created by Konkin. Konkin proffers various arguments of how a free society would function as ...

'', postulates that the correct method of achieving a

voluntary society A voluntary society, voluntary community or voluntary city is a term used in right-libertarianism to describe an entity in which all property (including streets, parks, etc.) and all services (including courts, police, etc.) are provided through w ...

is through advocacy and growth of the

underground economy A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the ...

or "

" – the "counter-economy" as Konkin put it – until such a point that the State's perceived

moral authority Moral authority is authority premised on principles, or fundamental truths, which are independent of written, or positive, laws. As such, moral authority necessitates the existence of and adherence to truth. Because truth does not change, the princi ...

and outright power have been so thoroughly undermined that revolutionary market anarchist legal and security enterprises are able to arise from underground and ultimately suppress government as a criminal activity (with taxation being treated as theft, war being treated as mass murder, ''et cetera''). According to Konkin's pamphlet ''Counter-Economics'': According to Konkin, counter-economics also allows for immediate self-liberation from statist controls, to whatever degree practical, by applying entrepreneurial logic to rationally decide which laws to discreetly break and when. The fundamental principle is to trade risk for profit, although profit can refer to any gain in perceived value rather than strictly monetary gains (as a consequence of the

subjective theory of value The subjective theory of value is an economic theory which proposes the idea that the value of any good is not determined by the utility value of the object, nor by the cumulative value of components or labour needed to produce or manufacture it, ...

). Voluntary practices of counter-economics include: *

Arms trafficking Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the illicit trade of contraband small arms and ammunition, which constitutes part of a broad range of illegal activities often associated with transnational criminal organizations. The illegal trade of small arm ...

* Bartering and

alternative currency A complementary currency is a currency or medium of exchange that is not necessarily a national currency, but that is thought of as supplementing or complementing national currencies. Complementary currencies are usually not legal tender and the ...

use * Illegal migration or hiring illegal immigrants *

Drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalati ...

* Electricity theft or tapping * Exchange of

food stamps In the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federal program that provides food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income people. It is a federal aid program, ad ...

Mutual credit "Mutual credit" (sometimes called "multilateral barter" or " credit clearing") is a term mostly used in the field of complementary currencies to describe a common, usually small-scale, endogenous money system. The term implies that creditors ...

Off-the-grid Off-the-grid or off-grid is a characteristic of buildings and a lifestyle designed in an independent manner without reliance on one or more public utilities. The term "off-the-grid" traditionally refers to not being connected to the electrical gr ...

energy and

solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essen ...

Smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are variou ...

Subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

Tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the tax ...

Prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

Strategy

According to Per Bylund, counter-economics applies two basic strategies to liberate people from the state, vertical or introverted and horizontal or extroverted, arguing:

Vertical or introverted

The vertical or introverted strategy is aimed towards individuals concentrating on decentralized local infrastructure as opposed to expansive state foundations and explained as such:

Voluntary association A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteers, to form a body (or organization) to ac ...

among those in a community is essential to this concept. Bylund believes developing means to refuse dependency on state services and become self-reliant can be an effective course of action to achieve

free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

processes. Community technology is an example of this strategy. Bylund mentions

Karl Hess Karl Hess (born Carl Hess III; May 25, 1923 – April 22, 1994) was an American speechwriter and author. He was also a political philosopher, editor, welder, motorcycle racer, tax resister, and libertarian activist. His career included stints on ...

's efforts to transform a Washington, D.C. neighborhood which reflects these principles as a primary example. Hess set up green houses on top of available rooftops and using old washing machine parts to build a fish-breeding facility in a building basement.

Horizontal or extroverted

The horizontal or extroverted strategy applies individuals actively creating

networks and structures which can be stretched beyond neighborhood communities focus in the vertical strategy, with Bylund arguing as follows:

References

External links

The Agorism Project – Agorism.co

Agorism: Revolutionary market anarchism

Just Things , The Fair Trade Journal of Applied Counter-Economics

by

{{libertarianism 1974 introductions Agorism Economic ideologies Free market Libertarian terms Libertarian theory Libertarianism in the United States Schools of economic thought